shouldn't a cold move downward?

[Anonymous]

My cold symptoms began with a runny nose, and now my head is all congested and my ears won't pop.

I thought a cold began with congestion and moved outward.
I'm wondering if I have something else, like a sinus infection.

[Anonymous]

My colds always begin with a sore throat, then comes nasal congestion and then, sometimes, ear issues. Never heard of this "cold moving downward" thing.

[Anonymous]

I just went to an ENT because I have a cold that was lasting a while--all in my head/nose/ears. Turns out I had a sinus infection. He said a lot of people think they have a cold (viral) that just won't go away when in fact they have a sinus infection (bacterial). Worth a look .

[Anonymous]

OP here.
To the PP - what test determines a sinus infection?
I don't want antibiotices unecessarily, which is why I typically don't call the dr. under these circumstances.

[Anonymous]

A head cold technically is a sinus infection, it's just a viral sinus infection. If can become bacterial though. Symptoms of a bacterial infection usually include a fever, although not always, and thick, opaque green mucus. My doc said she prescribes antibiotics if you have a fever/mucus, or if there's no improvement in two weeks.

[Anonymous]

Try drinking ton of fluid and taking Mucinex D - see if that helps. I am prone to sinus infections and hate taking antibiotics, too, and this helps me avoid them when I feel them starting.

[Anonymous]

I just went this route and did in fact have a bacterial sinus infection. For me, what helped me distinguish was that the cold symptoms - sore throat followed by cough / congestion and generally feeling crappy - settled in and then seemed to be improving. And *then* I started in with pain in my left cheek / congestion on that side, that ultimately expanded until my temple hurt and my teeth throbbed. And if I pressed on the cheekbone on that side I could feel a pressure / pain feeling that told me where the main infection was located.

Before moving on to antibiotics, I would certainly try things like a neti pot, nasal decongestant, etc. but if the symptoms have been around for 10+ days and you're not seeing improvement with those treatments, I would definitely get it checked out. While Drs can often be too quick to prescribe antibiotics for what are actually viral infections, when they are actually used for bacterial infections they truly do feel like wonder drugs, and help fast.

[Anonymous]

12:23 here.

I don't know what determines a bacterial sinus infection. The doctor looked up one nostril and said "I think this could be a sinus infection", then looked in the other nostril (the side that was bothering me more) and said "Yep, it's a sinus infection". I'm on an antibiotic and taking musinex twice a day. I was better within 2 days of taking the antibiotic.

I don't think I had a fever but my upper teeth were hurting.